Air circulator



J. 5. ANDREWS AIR CIRCULATOR Nov. 23, 1954 Filed Sept. ll, 1950 UnitedStates Patent O AIR CIRCULATOR John S. Andrews, Los Angeles, Calif.Application September 11, 1950, Serial No. 184,224 4 Claims. (Cl. 98-38)This invention relates to an air circulator of the type set forth in myco-pending application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 89,222 filed April23, 1949, now Patent No. 2,646,744, of which this application is acontinuation at least in part; the device being adapted for use inconjunction with a heater as set forth in said application as a meansfor intercepting heated air rising from the heater and projecting ithorizontally, thereby effecting a positive lateral distribution of theheated air.

A particular object of the present invention is to provide aconstruction in the air circulator whereby unconfined heated air risingfrom a heater outlet may be inducted into the path of a stream ofrelatively cooler air generated by a blower, in such fashion that theheated air will be projected and dispersed horizontally under the urgeof the air stream and without being brought into contact with the bladesor other operative parts of the blower and whereby the blower isprotected against detrimental effects of heated air impinging thereon.

Another object is to provide a construction whereby relatively cool airwill be supplied to the stream producing blower from unconned spaceadjacent to the heater outlet, and to also provide means for flowingrelatively cool air around the blower actuating motor so as to effect acooling action thereon and thereby prevent overheating thereof.

Another object is to provide a device of the above character embodying ahood which is adapted to be mounted on a wall in superimposed relationto the outlet of an air heater such as a wall or floor register, orimposed above a stove, steam radiator and the like, which hood is formedwith passages for conducting relatively cool air to a blower, and with aseparate passage to conduct heated air to a point where it will beinducted into the stream of air developed by the blower.

Another object is to provide an arrangement in the air circulation hoodwhereby a column of heated air rising from a heater will be directedinto an upwardly opening passage from which it may be inducted into astream of relatively cooler air developed by a blower, to provide meanswhereby the air stream ejected by the blower will be drawn from the airof a room in which the circulator is installed, both from beneath andfrom above the hood to thereby augment air circulation, and to providean arrangement whereby the air drawn from above the hood will beutilized to effect a cooling action on the blower motor.

A further object is to provide an air circulating device which isadapted for application as a built-in feature and also constructable asa portable attachment or accessory which may be readily applied tofunction with previously installed air heaters disposed in or near thewalls of a room and put in operation without the employment of specialequipment or skilled installers, and whereby the device may be marketedin the manner incident to ordinary electric fans and the like.

With the foregoing objects in view together with such other objects andadvantages as may subsequently appear, the invention resides in theparts and in the combination, construction and arrangement of partshereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated by way of example inthe accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one form of application of theair circulator in conjunction with a heater;

Fig. 2 is a view of the air circulator as seen 1n front elevation withportions broken away;

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of the air circulator with portionsbroken away;

2,694,971 Patented Nov. 23, 1954 Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail invertical section and elevation taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 as seenin the direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring to the drawings more specifically A indicates generally theair circulator, and B designates a heater constituting a source of heatin conjunction with which the air circulator A is particularly designedto be employed.

The heater B may be of any suitable type and construction adapted togenerate a supply of heated air and to direct an upwardly flowing columnor stream of such air adjacent a side wall C of a room. The source ofheat B may comprise a stove, a radiator, a fire-place, a wall heater,floor heater, or any other type of conventional heaters, whetherpermanently installed or portable. As here shown the heater B embodies ahousing D positioned adjacent to the walls C having a front hot airdischarge opening E covered by a grill F and through which opening Eheat may be directed into a room from adjacent the wall C from anysuitable source such as a furnace, or a heating element embodied intheheater B, not necessary to be here shown.

The present invention resides in the air circulator A which is designedto be positioned on the wall C above and contiguous the heater B, asshown in Fig. 1, to intercept a portion of a column of heated air risingfrom the heater. As here shown the air circulator A embodies anenlongated hood 6 comprising a top wall a, a depending front wall b, endwalls c and a back wall d.

The hood 6 is formed of a length exceeding that of the heater B and isarranged above the latter so that the end portions of the hood 6 projectsubstantially beyond the opposite ends of the opening E of the heater,and the hood 6 is formed of a width so that when applied to the wall Cthe front wall b thereof will extend on a vertical plane spacedforwardly of the heater B or at such point relative to the heater thatat least a portion of heated air rising from the heater B will beintercepted by and directed into the hood 6 rearward of the front wallb.

Extending longitudinally of the hood 6 interiorly thereof is a partition7 projecting downwardly from the top wall 8 and from the lower margin ofthe partition 7 extends a horizontal wall 8 leading to the back wall d;the partition 7 and wall 8 terminating at their ends in inwardly spacedrelation to the end walls c. Transverse partitions 9 extend from theends of the partitions 7 to the front wall b. The hood 6 is thus formedby the partitions 7 and 9 and the wall 8 with longitudinally extendingpassages 10 and 11 separated by the partition 7, with the passage 10opening downwardly to receive warm air rising from the heater B, andwith the passage 11 being enclosed on the four sides thereof by the topwall a, back wall d, partition 7 and horizontal wall 8 as particularlyshown in Fig. 4. Downwardly opening passages 12 are formed at the endsof the hood between the end walls c thereof and the transversepartitions 9, as particularly shown in Fig. 3, which passages areseparated from the passage 10 by the partitions 9 but open to the endsof the passage 11.

Formed in the top wall a intermediate the ends thereof is an elongatedslot 14 which opens to the passage 10 intermediate its ends defined bythe transverse partitions 9, and intermediate its sides defined by thefront wall b and partition 7, and projecting downwardly from the forwardmargin of the slot 14 is a rearwardly inclined baffle 15. The slot 14affords an opening through which heated air rising in the passage 10 mayflow to discharge as will presently be described.

Formed in the top wall a intermediate the ends thereof and leading fromthe passage 11 is a circular opening 16; the top wall a being formedwith an upstanding flange e forming the margin of the opening 16.Bearing on a cushion f surrounding the flange 16 and seated on the topwall a, is a blower G embodying a housing having a top wall g, a spiralside wall h, and including a rotary fan 17 in the blower housing mountedon a shaft z' extending through the top wall g of the housing.Tangential vanes i of the fan 17 are presented downwardly opposite theopening 16 and are arranged to act on rotation of the fan to induct airthrough the opening 16 and discharge it through the blower outlet kwhich is located and extends along the inner margin of the slot 14.

The shaft i connects with an electric motor H from which leadselectrical conductors l and m of the conventional electric circuit. Oneof the conductors leads to an adjustable thermostatically controlledswitch I arranged in the passage adjacent the hot air discharge slot 14.

Extending over the motor H and blower G and carried on the housing A isa protective housing K embodying a top wall n, a front wall o and endwalls p. The front wall o is formed with an opening q arranged oppositethe discharge opening k of theblower G forwardly of the slot l 14, whichopening q projects a short distance above the top wall g of the blower Gand has an inwardly projecting baille 18 formed in the wall oterminating on a plane slightly above the top wall g of the blower and ashort distance forward of the front edge of the latter. end walls p ofthe housing K are formed with air inlet openings 19 through which aflowvof air is inducted from above the hood 6 into the housing K toeffect a cooling action on the motor H when theblower G is in operation.

The air circulator A may be mounted on the wall C in any desired manner.As here shown the back wall d is formed with a pair of spaced invertedkey hole slots r which are detachably engageable with headed screws s orsimilar fastening or supports mounted on the wall C.

In the application of the invention the air circulator A is arrangedabove and sufficiently close to the heater B so that a portion of thehot air arising from the latter close to the wall C may ow into the openunder side of the passage 10; the hood 6 being designed and arranged sothat the column of heated air entering the passage 10 will beconcentrated to a large extent in inwardly spaced relation from the endwalls 9 of the passage and such that the downwardly opening passages 12will be presented to zones of relatively cool air at the opposite endsof the heater B.

vIn the operation of the invention on setting the motor H in motion toactuate the blower fan 17, the latter will act to induct air through theopening 16 from the passage 11 to which air is supplied through thepassages 12 from the comparatively cool air zones at opposite ends ofthe heater B. The blower G will effect discharge of the inducted airthrough the openings k and q in a horizontal direction between thediverging batiies .15 and 18 such as to induct air into the dischargingstream through the slot 14 and openings 19. When the heater B is set inoperation the column of heated air rising in the passage 10 will beaugmented by the induction of air through the slot 14 so that suchheated air as it passes through the slot 14 will be intermingled withand projected forwardly by the air stream generated by the blower G.

The air stream developed by the blower is forced outwardly from abovethe hood 6 with considerable velocity,

and together with the heated air entrained therein is caused to impingeupon and pass around various objects in the room, such as tables, chairsand other furniture, and thus directly heats Various portions of theroom intermediate the Hoor and ceiling thereof by conduction, andmaintains heat at a normally lower level than where the heated air ispermitted to rise to the ceiling directly from the heater.

The thermostat J in the passage 10 is provided for controlling theoperation of the air circulator, including the motor H and blower G, andis of a conventional type which is normally closed and is adapted to beadjusted to open and break the circuit to the motor H when thetemperature of the heated air in the passage 10 falls below apredetermined degree, as when the source of heat is cut off, but whichmay be closed against opening under temperature control so that the aircirculator may be employed independent of the heater as a means formaintaining air circulation in a room during warm weather.

It will be observed that the relatively cool air supplied to the intakeof the blower through the opening 16 is drawn from the lower portion ofthe room or from beneath the hood, while air inducted into the streamdischarged from the blower through the openings 19 in the housing K willbe drawn from atmosphere above the hood 6 and shielded by the latterfrom the heat ascending from the heater B so that the air thus passedthrough the housing K around the motor and blower therein will berelatively The cool and will conduct heat from the motor and convey itto the air stream developed by the blower.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention,I do not limit myself to the exact details of construction set forth,and the invention ernbraces such changes, modifications and equivalentsof the parts and their formation and arrangement as come within thepurview of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An air circulator comprising an elongated hood adapted to be mountedon a vertical wall, said hood having top, front, back and end walls andopen throughout on its under side, means for fastening said hood on awall in a horizontally extending position with its open side presenteddownwardly, an air intake passage in said hood opening downwardly to theopen side of said hood throughout the length thereof, said top wallhaving a slot mediate the length thereof opening to said passage, ablower on said hood having a discharge outlet arranged to direct astream of air outwardly over and adjacent said slot to induct air fromsaid intake passage throughfsaid slot, and a passage in said hoodseparated from said air intake passage and from the open under side ofsaid hood and having ends opening to the interior of the hood adjacentthe end walls thereof for directing air to said blower from the interiorof the hood.

2. The structure called for in claim 1 together with a motor connectedto said blower for actuating same, a housing on the top wall of saidhood encompassing said motor and blower having air intake openings andhaving an air outlet opening spaced forward of the blower dischargeoutlet and forward of said slot through which outlet opening the airstream from said blower is directed to induct air through the air intakepassage in said housing.

3. In an air circulator, an elongated hood including top, front, backand end walls, a longitudinally extending partition projectingdownwardly from said top wall, transverse partitions spaced inwardlyfrom the end walls of said hood extending between the hood front walland said longitudinal partition and forming therewith a downwardlyopening air intake passage, said top wall being formed with a slotopening to said passage, a bottom wall connecting said partition to saidback wall forming therewith a longitudinally extending air intakepassage in said hood, air intake passages adjacent the end walls of saidhood opening to the ends of said longitudinal air passage, said top wallbeing formed with an opening leading to said longitudinal air passage, ablower mounted on said top wall and arranged over said opening, saidblower having a discharge outlet arranged to direct a stream of airgenerated by said blower outwardly and horizontally over said slot toinduct air from the passage communicating with said slot.

4. The structure called for in claim 3 together with a motor connectedto said blower for actuating same, and a housing on said top wallencompassing said motor and blower having air inlet openings andprovided with an air outlet opening arranged forwardly of and in spacedrelation to the discharge opening of said blower so that streams of airdischarged from said blower in passing through said housing opening willinduct air into said housing through the intake openings therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,673,072 Houghtby June 12, 1928 1,913,980 Fisher June'13,1933 2,052,596 Barrett Sept. 1, 1936 2,134,142 Orear Oct. 25, 19382,197,679 Boorman Apr. 16, 1940 2,215,901 Christman Sept. 24, 19402,217,944 Collicutt Oct. 15, 1940 2,275,295 Greenway Mar. 3, 19422,334,056 Anderson Nov. 9, 1943 2,352,485 Kritzer June 27, 1944

